District nurses latest to benefit from electric vehicle

The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board has recently purchased a new electric vehicle for use by its public health service and district nurses who are based at the Richmond Health Hub. As the owner of the property, Network Tasman has provided a charging station for the vehicle outside the offices at 281 Queen St, Richmond. 

The Queen St charging station is in addition to three charging stations for electric vehicles that Network Tasman has installed at its premises in Hope after adding an electric vehicle and a hybrid vehicle to its fleet earlier this year.

“Electric vehicle charging stations are a new feature within Nelson Tasman and are already extremely popular in many other countries,” says Network Tasman’s CEO, Wayne Mackey. 

“Our staff have really enjoyed using our fully electric plug-in Nissan Leaf and our hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander during the past few months and we are delighted that NMDHB has decided to purchase its own electric vehicle. 

“It’s particularly positive that the public health service and district nurses will be using the vehicle. They are highly visible within our community as they go about their work and many people are likely to see the vehicle on the road. We are confident they will find the car easy and enjoyable to drive.” 

“We are excited by the potential benefits of adding electric vehicles to our fleet,” says NMDHB General Manager – Technology and Infrastructure, Patrick Ng. “We see it as making a positive contribution to our environmental footprint – and it’s good economics as well.

“Electric vehicles are particularly viable for trips of fewer than 100km and we think the first vehicle we have purchased will be ideal for our public health service and district nurses.”